Michaelberg Professional Hockey League
League Establishment During the nation of Michaelberg's massive growth period, which was caused by the nation's involvement in The Democratic Order's Advanced Growth Program, the government decided it was now time to introduce five brand new stadiums. During the planning stages of the stadiums, it was decided by their President, Michael 'Blitzkreig1010' Guderian, that these five stadiums would be used to start a professional hockey league that was to be known as the 'Michaelberg Professional Hockey League' or MPHA for short. Being an avid hockey fan himself, Blitzkreig1010 thought that his nation's populace would be most satisfied by the fast and strong play found in the sport. So, with the sport decided upon, five brand new hockey stadiums were built around the nation. The first stadium, which is known as the Blitz Dome, was built in the heart of the nation's capital of Durham. The second and third stadiums to be developed, which were known as Oshawa Place and Blitz Corp. Centre respectively, were both put into the industrial powerhouse of Michaelberg, Oshawa. The fourth stadium was built in the city of Pickering and was named the Blitz Beer Arena. The fifth, and final, arena to be developed in the nation as a part of this new growth plan was the MPHA Central Arena, which was built in the tourist haven of Niagara. With these five new stadiums developed and ready for action, it was now time to develop the league. Being a rather busy individual himself, President Blitzkreig1010 decided that he would create the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Panel (MPHP) that would be given free reign to develop not only the rules that the league would be based on, but also the teams that would play in the league. On the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Panel, there were thirty-three members all ranging in profession and country of origin but all similar in that they all had a passion for hockey. The first ruling that the MPHP made for the new league was to be known as 'MPHA Decree 1: The Original Five'. This Decree said the following: Rules and Regulation When it comes to the rules and regulations of the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Association, it should be noted that the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Panel decided that it would be best to use the general rules of play utilized by the National Hockey League as this league is considered a benchmark for most professional leagues. Therefore, all rules pertaining to Playing Area, Equipment, Types of Penalties, Officials, Physical Fouls, Restraining Fouls, Stick Fouls, Other Fouls and Game Flow are simply duplications of those found in the National Hockey League. Rules pertaining to regular season organization, post-season format and teams however, are unique to the Michaelberg Hockey Association. In order to clarify, those rules that are unique to this hockey organization are listed below. Michaelberg Professional Hockey Panel Decree 25: Regular Season Format As long as there are only five teams sanctioned in the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Association, the regular season shall be subjected to the format described here. Each team in the MPHA will need to play eighty games, four games against each of the opposing teams, in order to be remain sanctioned in the MPHA and be eligible for the post-season. Within these eighty regular season games, exactly half, fifty percent, of them must be played in the team's respective home arena, unless otherwise discussed with the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Panel. Following each game in the MPHA, teams will be awarded points for their performance. The winning team will be awarded two points and the losing team will be awarded zero, if the winning team is victorious after regulation time. If the game is tied, and goes into overtime, then the winning team will still be awarded two points, but the losing team will be awarded one point. At the end of the season, the teams will be ranked in order from most points to least points, with goals for being the tie-breaker. Michaelberg Professional Hockey Panel Decree 31: Post Season Format As long as there are only five teams sanctioned in the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Association, the post-season shall be subjected to the format described by this decree. When the regular season has concluded, which is when all sanctioned teams have completed the requirements described in Decree 25, the teams ranked in the top four positions will be eligible for post-season play. When these top four teams are determined, they shall play each other in what will be known as the 'Semi-Finals'. In the 'Semi-Finals' the top rank team will play against the fourth ranked team and the remaining two teams will play each other. The winners of the 'Semi-Finals' will be determined by a Best-of-Five match between the teams in the aforementioned format. The winners of the 'Semi-Finals' will then move on to the final round of the post-season while the losing participants will be eliminated. The final round, which is to be called the 'MPHA Finals', will be played by the two winning teams in a Best-of-Seven match. The winner of this set of matches will be considered the MPHA champion and will be awarded the Blitz Memorial Cup. League Teams Durham Maple Leafs Team Establishment: November 2008 Team General Manager: Michael Balder Team Head Coach: Johnathon Quinn Team Sponsor: MPHP Team Owner: MPHP League Leading Seasons: 2009 Blitz Memorial Cups: 2009 Niagara Knights Team Establishment: November 2008 Team General Manager: Kyle Smith Team Head Coach: Shawn Otterson Team Sponsor: MPHP Team Owner: MPHP League Leading Seasons: None Blitz Memorial Cups: None Oshawa Ridgebacks Team Establishment: November 2008 Team General Manager: Peter Woodworth Team Head Coach: Frederick Bowler Team Sponsor: MPHP Team Owner: MPHP League Leading Seasons: None Blitz Memorial Cups: None Oshawa Battalions Team Establishment: November 2008 Team General Manager: Samuel Vesper Team Head Coach: David Backer Team Sponsor: MPHP Team Owner: MPHP League Leading Seasons: None Blitz Memorial Cups: None Pickering Spitfire Team Establishment: November 2008 Team General Manager: Ethan McAndrews Team Head Coach: Richard Cracker Team Sponsor: MPHP Team Owner: MPHP League Leading Seasons: None Blitz Memorial Cups: None MPHA Season Statistics 2008-09 Regular Season MPHA Playoff Statistics 2008-09 Playoffs Semi-Final Games Game #1a: Niagara Knights 1 @ 6 Durham Maple Leafs Game #2a: Niagara Knights 0 @ 3 Durham Maple Leafs Game #3a: Durham Maple Leafs 2 @ 1 Niagara Knights Game #1b: Pickering Spitfire 2 @ 3 Oshawa Ridgebacks Game #2b: Pickering Spitfire 3 @ 6 Oshawa Ridgebacks Game #3b: Oshawa Ridgebacks 0 @ 2 Pickering Spitfire Game #4b: Oshawa Ridgebacks 1 @ 4 Pickering Spitfire Game #5b: Pickering Spitfire 5 @ 4 Oshawa Ridgebacks MPHA Finals Game #1: Pickering Spitfire 2 @ 5 Durham Maple Leafs Game #2: Pickering Spitfire 1 @ 4 Durham Maple Leafs Game #3: Durham Maple Leafs 2 @ 3 Pickering Spitfire Game #4: Durham Maple Leafs 4 @ 0 Pickering Spitfire Game #5: Pickering Spitfire 0 @ 3 Durham Maple Leafs MPHA Major Announcements Durham Maple Leafs Champions After a five-game MPHA finals, the Durham Maple Leafs are the official first champions of the Michaelberg Professional Hockey Association and they have been awarded the Blitz Memorial Cup. Congratulations to all the players, coaches and staff to their wonderful accomplishment and hopefully this will continue into the upcoming hockey seasons. New Teams to be Added to the MPHA Roster? Despite the current five teams showing some great promise in the inaugural season of the MPHA, the members of the MPHP believe that the league would be greatly benefited by the addition of three new teams from the neighbouring nation of Canada. As of right now, nothing is confirmed about the three new teams, but it has been rumored that the teams will be coming from Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Category:Michaelberg